1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, and more specifically to an image forming apparatus with a carriage mounting a recording head for ejecting liquid droplets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses are used as printers, facsimile machines, copiers, plotters, or multi-functional devices having two or more of the foregoing capabilities. As one type of image forming apparatus employing a liquid-ejection recording method, an inkjet recording apparatus is known that uses a recording head (liquid ejection head or liquid-droplet ejection head) for ejecting droplets of ink.
Such inkjet-type image forming apparatuses fall into two main types: a serial-type image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting droplets from the recording head while moving a carriage mounting the recording head in a main scanning direction, and a line-head-type image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting droplets from a linear-shaped recording head held stationary in the image forming apparatus. The serial-type image forming apparatus may have a linear encoder including an encoder scale and an encoder sensor to detect the position (main scanning position) of the carriage in a main scanning direction. The encoder scale is disposed along the main scanning direction and the encoder sensor is mounted on the carriage.
The carriage may mount a carriage-side circuit board, e.g., a relay board to relay between a driving circuit for driving the recording head and a main-body-side control circuit board disposed at a main body of the apparatus and mounting a control circuit for controlling the entire apparatus. The main-body-side control circuit board and the carriage-side circuit board are connected via a flexible cable, e.g., a flexible flat cable (FFC), and the carriage-side circuit board and the recording head are connected via a flexible printed circuit (FPC) including a driving circuit or other type of flexible flat cable.
For the image forming apparatus, an openable top cover may be disposed above the carriage so that, for example, when a paper jam occurs inside, a user can access to the interior of the apparatus to remove a jammed sheet.
However, in such a case where the user can access to the interior of the apparatus, the user is likely to contact the encoder scale or flexible cable, thus causing faulty reading of the encoder or damage to the flexible cable.